How to Improve your Goal settings
Business & Careers Links
Business & Careers Tips01 - How to Attract Business? 02 -
How to To Improve Your Company? 03 - Tips on How to Get a
Job 04 - 45 ideas to promote your business 05 - Are You
Making Any Business Mistakes 06 - Building An Internet Based
Business 07 - Email Marketing Methods 08 - To making money
on the Internet 09 - How to ask your boss for a raise? 10 -
10 tips of leverage that small business has 11 - How to be a
Successful Sales Professional? 12 - How to Choose and Keep
Customers? 13 - How to Developing Personal Creativity? 14 -
How to get media coverage for your business? 15 - How to
Grow Your Business Through Publicity? 16 - How to Improve
Your Goal Setting Skills? 17 - How to make your hobby into a
business? 18 - How to organize your paperwork? 19 - How to
Promote Your WebSite? 20 - How To Set and Achieve Goals? 21
- 10 keys of International Marketing Plan 22 - How to Work
Effectively At Home? 23 - How to work effectively in a home
office? 24 - Internet Business Guides, Tips and New Ideas 25
- Most Common Mistakes in Selling 26 - 9 Ways to get free
PR-media coverage 27 - Starting a Small Business Going Into
business 28 - Ten E-Mail Courtesy Tips For Businesses 29 -
Ten Keys to Making Money On The Internet 30 - Ten Keys To
Small Business Success 31 - Ten Keys To Successful
Negotiation 32 - Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses
Make 33 - Strategies To Build Solid Business Partnership 34
- Ten Strategies To Increase Your Sales 35 - Tips for
getting FREE Publicity for your business 36 - 10 Myths About
Selling 37 - How to run Internet business from home? 38 -
What to DO When a Customer Says NO 39 - Why you need a
Website 40 - Words That Limit Your Success

How to To Improve Your Company?

1. Know your personal values.
What's most important to you personally? When you know
your values, you'll better filter new information and
opportunities and can rely better on your intuition
because you know what you're hearing and how it fits in
with you.

2. Get candid input from at least 5 other people who
know you well.
While it's nice to get input from experts, it's as
valuable to get points of view from colleagues, family
members, key employees who know you -- they know your
tendencies, your moods, the way you think, your blind
spots, your passions. Let them guide you.

3. Have a really big, big picture.
When you know your long term goals, have a vision or
have a helicopter view of the current situation or
opportunity, you'll be "seeing more" and thus have more
information on which to base your decision.

4. Always have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D ready to go!
You can improve your good judgment by having back up
plans, whether you need them or not.

5. Don't put yourself in situations where you are forced
to rely too much
On your "good judgment." This one is important. After
all, shouldn't you be enough ahead of the curve to have
been making good decisions along the way so that having
"good judgment" doesn't become critical? Don't confuse
good judgment with crisis management.

6. Separate the facts from the interpretation of the
facts.
There are very few facts that aren't also coupled with
someone's (even your) interpretation of the facts.
Either sales are down 20% or they are not. An
explanation is just that. There are great explanations,
few of which are worth banking your business on. If
sales are down, assume they'll stay down until you do
something about it.

7. Always include a worst-case scenario -- and make it a
really bad scenario.
For a decade or two, Detroit kept factoring in
worst-case scenarios, yet they continually came up short
because they took incremental actions based on what they
wanted to believe would happen, not what was so clearly
a long-term trend of foreign-made cars slicing up their
market share. Living in denial is always expensive --
yet we all do it. A good way to get out of denial is to
assume that sales will drop 50% in the next year (think
Volkswagen) and "be ready" for that possibility. Just by
including that option and developing options at that
level, one will make a better decision about what is
more likely to happen.

8. Always look at the downside of every decision you
make.
If you're adding a new product, increasing the customer
service budget, reducing overhead, permitting use of
your name/trademark, entering into a co-venture
agreement, make a list of the 10 potentially negative
and even deadly consequences of even a
no-brainer/excellent change. Everything affects
everything today -- and unexpectedly. If you respect
this ecological truth you'll realize that every decision
affects, in some way, you, your employees, your
shareholders, your profitability and your viability.

9. Seek to enhance your reputation first; bottom line
second.
I used to base most of my decisions on whether or not my
company would make more money. But in 1994, I realized
that the future of my business came from my current
customers, their word-of-mouth and from the press we
were beginning to receive from the national media. At
that point, it occurred to me that if I'd just invest
more money in our reputation and make my decisions based
more on reputation than quarterly profitability, I'd be
a lot more financially successful --- and more proud of
my company, too.

10. Hang out with others who have excellent judgment.
There are so many subtleties about acquiring and
developing good judgment that most of the process comes
best from friends, colleagues, competitors and staff who
already have great judgment. Learn from them, in every
conversation.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

45 ideas to promote your business

1. Advertise in the classified advertising section of
your community newspaper.

2. Advertise in the Yellow Pages.

3. Advertise on a grocery buggy.

4. Approach your prospective customers over the phone.

5. Approach your prospective customers in person.

6. Approach your prospective customers through the mail.


7. Be a guest speaker at seminars and present on your
area of expertise.

8. Be a guest speaker on radio talk shows.

9. Build and maintain a customer mailing and contact
list on database software.

10. Build your image with well designed letterhead and
business cards.

11. Design a brochure that best explains the benefits of
your services.

12. Design a mail order campaign.

13. Design a point of purchase display for your product.


14. Design a telemarketing campaign.

15. Design an image building logo for your company.

16. Design and distribute a quarterly newsletter or an
industry update announcement.

17. Design and distribute company calendars, mugs, pens,
note pads, or other advertising specialties displaying
your company name and logo.

18. Design and distribute a free "how to do it" hand-out
related to your industry (e.g. Tips for conserving
energy in your home).

19. Design buttons, decals and bumper stickers or
balloons with your company name, logo or slogan.

20. Design T-shirts displaying your company name and
logo.

21. Explore cross promotion with a non-competing company
selling to your target market.

22. Explore the costs of advertising in newspapers,
magazines, on radio, television, billboards, bus
shelters and benches.

23. Explore ways to share your advertising costs using
cooperative advertising.

24. Follow up customer purchases with a thank you
letter.

25. Follow up customer purchases with Christmas or
birthday cards.

26. Have your company profiled in a magazine or
newspaper that is read by prospective customers.

27. Hire an advertising agency or public relations firm.


28. Hold a promotional contest.

29. Hold a seminar on your service, product or industry.


30. Include promotional material with your invoices.

31. Look for prospective customers at trade shows
related to your industry.

32. Look for prospective customers in associations
related to your industry.

33. Look for prospective customers at seminars related
to your industry.

34. Look for prospective customers in magazines and
newspapers related to your industry.

35. Package your brochure, price lists and letter in a
folder for your customers.

36. Place a sidewalk sign outside your store or office.


37. Place flyers on bulletin boards and car windshields.


38. Place promotional notes on your envelopes, mailing
labels.

39. Place signs or paint logos on your company
vehicle(s).

40. Prepare a corporate video.

41. Prepare a list of product features and benefits to
help you plan your advertising and promotional
campaigns.

42. Prepare proposals offering solutions to your
customers' needs

43. Provide free samples of your product or service.

44. Provide public tours of your operation.

45. Sponsor a charity event.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How To Set and Achieve Goals

When it comes to setting goals, start off with what's
important to you in life. Take out a sheet of paper.
Sit quietly, and on that sheet of paper, brainstorm
what you want to accomplish between now and the end of
your life.

Second step-use another sheet of paper, and this time
consider yourself and your personal goals for the next
12 month period. Some key areas in which you might set
personal goals include: family, personal growth,
financial, health, social, career, hobbies, spiritual,
and recreation. Write down the things that you plan to
accomplish or achieve or attain during this one-year
period?

Now, as a third step, go back and compare the two goal
lists you have made. Make sure that the items on your
short-term list will, as you attain them, be helping
you attain your long-term or lifetime goals. It is
important that what you are doing short term is taking
you in the right direction toward your lifetime goals.
Please rewrite your short term goals now if you need
to.

As a next step, looking at the goals that are on your
list at this time, if there are any that you are not
willing to pay the price for, go ahead and cross them
out, leaving only those items you are willing to cause
to happen in your life. This does not necessarily mean
you have the money or the other resources for
attaining the goal right now. However, when you do
have it, would you spend it on or trade it for the
goals you have on your list?

Now, on still another sheet of paper, create the job
goals that are important to you during this upcoming
12-month period. Identify what outcomes you wish to
attain or achieve during this one-year period in your
specific area of responsibility and authority.

Some key areas in which you might consider writing job
goals, if you did not already, include: quality,
quantity, cost control, cost improvement, equipment,
procedures, training, sales, financial, and personnel.

As a next step, look for the blending between your job
or work goals and your personal goals. Anywhere you
notice that you are attaining a goal on the job while
at the same time you are attaining a personal goal,
note this relationship: it is in these areas you will
be most highly motivated.

For each of the three lists that you have just
created, take an additional sheet of paper and list
the activities that you must do to attain the most
important goal that you have on each of your lists.

Now on another piece of paper titled "Things To-Do
List" identify from the activities you just listed,
the ones that you must do tomorrow to move you toward
your most important goal.

Rewrite your goals in these categories at least every
three months.

The only thing in life that is constant is the fact
that everything is changing. It makes sense that our
goals will change as we change.

Recognize how focusing on what you do want, what you
do intend to accomplish, also defines what you choose
not to do in your life.

Daily rewrite your list of "Things To-Do" after first
reviewing your desired goals.

Success is defined as "the progressive realization of
a worthwhile goal." If you are doing the things that
are moving you toward the attainment of your goal,
then you are "successful" even if you are not there
yet.

Every step along the way to achieving a goal is just
as important as the last step.

It is not the achieving of a goal that is so
important, it is what you become in the process.

Set goals with your family also. Help children learn
this process early in life.

Decide what you should be accomplishing and then stick
to your knitting. Do not attempt to be or do all
things for all people.

Dreams and wishes are not goals until they are written
as specific end results on paper.

Written specific goals provide direction and focus to
your activities. They become a road map to follow.

Being busy with activities does not pay, only results
do. As in baseball you only get points for getting to
the goal of home plate. Just making it to the bases
does not count.

It has been said that the amount of information
available to us is now doubling in less than 30
months. We must learn to focus on only what is truly
important to our self and our job.

Be sure the goals and activities that you are working
for are yours and that you really want and desire to
achieve them. The commitment is vital to your success
in achieving them.

When you have a goal that is exciting to you, the life
energy flows through you. You are excited about
accomplishing it because it is personally meaningful.

Create a time line or matrix chart on which you
display your goals visually and the dates when you
will have them accomplished.

Continually look for ways to integrate or blend
personal and professional goals.

Setting a goal, that you believe is unattainable will
result in frustration. To be challenging and
motivating, goals must be perceived as realistic and
attainable.

Those people with dreams are the ones most likely to
experience them.

Set goals carefully for you will attain them. This
also means if you set none, you will attain that.

Goals, when thoughtfully set, can provide strong
motivational direction.

Clear cut, understandable and realistic objectives
leading to the goal help to maintain the sense of
realism and the hope of attainment of the goal.

Establish measurement criteria to monitor progressive
movement toward your goal. Then you will experience
progress.

Set goals that you will be proud to have achieved,
then sense your having completed them.

Have a vision that you know is unquestionably right
and you will be internally driven to achieve that
vision.

A goal is "reasonable" when you can see the entire
process needed to get to its attainment.

Good planning assists in sensing reasonableness of
challenging goals.

Use picture goals.

Develop an emotional reason why you should attain your
goal.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
en Keys To Successful Negotiation

1. Know what you REALLY want.
Many people enter negotiation only to find they did not
have a clear desired outcome defined in their own mind.
Write down your desired outcome as concisely as possible
and use this outcome as the center point of your
preparation.

2.Know your opposition
Learn as much as possible about who you are negotiating
with, what they want, their strengths and weaknesses,
and their likes and dislikes.

3. Consider the impact of timing and method of
negotiation.
Whenever possible, negotiate face to face. It is easier
to say NO over the telephone and in writing. Initiate
the negotiation process so that you have the advantage
of preparation and timing.

4. Prepare your presentation...point by point
Outline your presentation carefully. Place emphasis on
benefits to the other party.

5. Anticipate reactions, objections and responses
If possible, brainstorm with others who have had similar
negotiations to get a jump on what to expect. For each
objection or reaction, list positive responses,
alternatives and examples that contract the negatives.

6. Structure your presentation to ensure agreement on
one or two points at the beginning of the negotiation.
For example, "I think we can agree right away that we
have a problem and that we both/all want to resolve it."
Initial agreement on minor issues or points early on in
the negotiation process sets a positive atmosphere for
agreement in later, more significant stages.

7. Determine paybacks and consequences for each party in
the negotiation.
A clear understanding of paybacks and consequences makes
it easier to determine when and how to make concessions
and when and how to stick to your demands/requests.

8. Prepare options rather than ultimatums
An ultimatum should be used only as a last resort when
you are sure you can back it up and the other party
knows you can back it up. Even then, in virtually every
negotiation there are options and alternatives that
reduce defensiveness and lead to positive resolution for
all parties.

9. Get comfortable with silence.
Many negotiators feel compelled to jump in with
arguments and comments each time there is a pause in the
interaction. Practice withholding comments and
responses. Silence can be a very powerful negotiation
tool.

10. Close all negotiations by clearly outlining
agreement
When agreement or conclusions have been reached and you
are ready to end your negotiation, review the agreement
that has been reached. Then, end your negotiation on a
positive note...commending those involved and
emphasizing the progress made.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How to be a Super Successful Sales Professional

Tip #1
An obvious and compelling Passion for People, not just
the for product or service. (OLD: Really believe in the
product/service.)
Super Sales Professionals care SO much for people and
helping them to solve their problems/get their buying
needs met that the buyer FEELs this. It's not an act;
it's a calling.

Tip #2
An ability to help the prospective customer to FEEL.
(OLD: Find/create pain.) The Super Sales Professional
doesn't just look for the hot buttons as a way of
getting the person to buy. Instead, they help to create
a possibility that EXCITES the buyer.

Tip #3
A willingness to sell to the buyer's buying strategy
instead of using a collection of selling techniques and
hoping for a connection. (OLD: Using a technique that
works for you.)
This requires a certain humility because the Super Sales
Professional makes the buyer more important than the
Super Sales Professionals collection of selling skills.
Every buyer has their preferred way to purchase; get to
know these in general and quickly discover the preferred
way that your potential customer buys/makes a decision,
etc.

Tip #4
An ability to peg/discern who is going to be a buyer and
who is not. (OLD: Ability to qualify prospects quickly.)
Super Sales Professionals have a sixth sense that helps
them to distinguish between tire kickers and real
buyers. This sixth sense is develop-able. And, it saves
LOTS of time and frustration when mastered.

Tip #5
Ability to easily match the EXACT features/benefits of
the product with the client's spoken or unspoken needs
or wants. (OLD: Sell the sizzle, not just the steak.)
No buyer cares about ALL of the features and benefits;
they usually only care about 1 or 2 of them. Your
mission: Sense, feel or discover (by asking questions,
guessing) the key benefits that turn this discussion
into a sale, quickly.

Tip #6
Not needing to have to make the sale. (OLD: Don't appear
too hungry.) Hungry salespeople scare away the meal.

Tip #7
Discerning the appropriate next step for the buyer and
helping them to see how your product/service is the
obvious choice. (OLD: Sell to the need.) This requires
some thinking and feeling. When you can size up your
buyer and look "ahead" for/with them, you'll see a
picture of what's next and be better able to language
how your product/service can assist them in their
progress.

Tip #8
Having enough evidence of how REALLY effective valuable
your product/service is and then sharing that with
confidence. (OLD: Know your product/service well.)
When you've seen enough customers do extremely well with
your product or service (not just well, but EXTREMELY
well), you'll not be hesitant to share how well your
product/service works. Facts inspire confidence. Get to
know the real facts about how effective your product or
service performs and delights customers, and you'll be a
FEARLESS sales professional.

Tip #9
Naturally adding value to everyone you touch, buyer or
not. (OLD: Be a resource to potential customers.) Either
you seek to add value to everyone or you don't.

Tip #10
Be human, be light and be real with everyone. Don't
perform or act. (OLD: Create rapport.) Drop the
pretense, the false sincerity, the I'm-your-new-best
friend, the
I'm-here-to-SERVE-you-at-least-as-long-as-I-think-there's-a-chance-that-you'll
-buy-something-from-me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


How to work effectively in a home office

There are many successful home business models ranging
from total chaos to very structured. So there is no
single recipe that must be followed to be successful.
Many home businesses are started by refugees from
corporate America who are used to the structure and
socialization aspects of the corporation. For these
owners, the following secrets will help provide the
structure they may need when they first start.
1. Negotiate an agreement with the other inhabitants and
live up to that agreement.
Frequently there is a re-entry problem with the other
inhabitants. Your spouse may be used to being alone
during the day, and may be unhappy with your increased
presence. Have a kick-off meeting to negotiate an
agreement that will avoid conflict.

2. Set aside a separate area for the business.
If possible, dedicate a room or part of the basement to
the business. This helps everyone feel that the home is
still a home. It also provides a basis for a home office
income tax deduction.

3. Schedule separate blocks of work time and free time.
There can be many distractions during the day. It is
helpful if you have a schedule for the day so you can
minimize interruptions and distractions.

4. Start every work day at the scheduled time
Form a habit of starting on time and keeping to the
schedule. This makes it easier to minimize distractions.


5. Don't sleep late or watch daytime TV during work
time.
It's tempting sometimes, but successful businesses are
built on the days that you don't feel like it, not on
the days that you do feel like it.

6. Wear your work uniform when you are working.
When I started my consulting practice, I found it
helpful to dress business casual (for men this is
wearing a tie without a food stain). It made me feel
more like I was supposed to be working.

7. Work on high value tasks during your peak productive
hours.
Most people have specific part of the day that they are
more productive. I find my optimum schedule is to start
about one hour after sunrise, work continuously for four
hours, then go out. I can work another two hours after I
return. That six hour work schedule has consistently
produced more work product than I used to produce in two
days in the corporate environment.

8. Accomplish your Single Daily Action before you finish
the workday.
Have a Single Daily Action every day which is the most
important action for that day. When you are starting
your practice, this is likely to be marketing-related.

9. Build a supportive community and nurture it every
day.
I think the chief complaint about home business is that
it can get lonely and isolated. Make it a practice to
talk to people every day, even when your focus is on
completing an important project.

10. Manage your thoughts.
Sometimes it is easy to become discouraged and/or
negative. Create a method of maintaining a realistic
positive outlook and reenergizing yourself when the
voice of your Evil Twin intrudes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How to Promote Your Website

Many people believe that if you open a Web site,
customers show up automatically. It just ain't so. You
must drive customers to your site. That requires some
work and a plan.
1. Get prominent listings on search engines and in Web
directories.
The key word here is prominent. When Alta Vista returns
70,000 listings to someone searching for your type of
product, you don't want to be buried on the bottom. You
want to be in the first page of results. For most Web
sites, search engines and directories are the most
important sources of qualified visitors. They account
for 70 percent or more of the visitors to many sites.

2. Rent or collect "opt-in" e-mail addresses and e-mail
invitations to your prospects.
"Opt-in" lists consist of people who have asked to
receive e-mail about a specific subject. One country
music site rented three separate e-mail lists of country
music fans, combined them, and e-mailed an announcement
about a country music contest. Within eight hours, 11.6
percent of
recipients visited the site. A week later, 30 percent
had visited. E-mail lists like these are one of the best
ways to build traffic quickly.

3. Beg, swap, or buy links to your site from other sites
your prospects visit
Associations, educational sites, and other companies are
likely candidates for links. What other Web sites do
your prospects visit? See if you can get a text link
from those sites to yours. Over time, they could send
you a steady stream of highly qualified visitors.
Sometimes you can get a link from another site just
by asking. Try that approach first. Most of the time,
however, you'll scratch their backs and they'll scratch
yours as each of you adds links to the other. If the
other site's visitors are valuable enough to you, you
might even offer to pay for a link.

4. Promote your site URL offline everywhere you can
You ve seen other people s URLs (Web site addresses) on
buses, billboards, t-shirts, and TV commercials. You can
do the same with yours. Put it on your letterhead,
business cards, and checks--anyplace you print a phone
number. Make sure all your employees include your Web
address in their e-mail signature files.

5. Send e-mail and "snail mail" press releases to
announce your site.
When you launch your site, add something, or hold a
special activity on your site, you can generate traffic
through press coverage. Press releases are cheap, and
they can produce stories in both electronic and
traditional media. Those stories send a temporary burst
of visitors to you, and the leads are qualified because
the respondents are interested in the topic of your
release.

6. Swap or buy banner advertisements on other sites.
As opposed to text links (#3, above), banner ads deliver
short-term bursts of visitors to your site. That can be
expensive, but there are services that swap banner space
on your site in exchange for displaying your banners on
other sites. Swapped banners usually generate
less-qualified traffic than targeted banner ads, but
they cost much less.

7. Pay commissions to affiliates who send customers to
you.
You may have noticed that some Web sites have
recommended reading lists, and when you click on the
title, you are sent to a page selling that book on
Amazon.com. This is no accident. If you buy the book
from that page, Amazon pays a commission to the site
that referred you. Those commissions have resulted in
more than 50,000 sites selling millions of books for
Amazon. Obviously, that method of driving traffic is
suitable only if you, like Amazon, sell your products on
the Web. An affiliate program of that sort is more
complicated to set up than other traffic-driving
methods, but it delivers the most rewarding visitors of
all: paying customers. You don't pay for "clickthrough
lookie-loos"; you pay only when somebody buys your
product.

8. Carefully promote your site on newsgroups, chat
lines, and e-mail discussion lists.
The key word here is carefully. Discussion groups can be
worthwhile, but only if you move slowly and keep your
eyes open. If you don't watch your step, this method can
be the quickest way of alienating
your prospects instead of attracting them. The reason is
that online discussions tend to attract the people who
are passionately interested in a topic. If you become a
valued contributor to a discussion, not selling your
products overtly but just answering questions, other
participants may spread good electronic word-of-mouth
about your company. This technique often translates into
increased traffic on your Web site--and sales.
Conversely, if you pepper online discussions with sales
announcements, participants will get angry and drive
traffic away from you.

9. Buy sponsorships of sites or pages that your
prospects visit.
Whereas banners are short-term traffic-drivers,
sponsorships are long-term, suitable for driving ongoing
traffic. You sponsor a page, an article, or a section of
a site for a specified time period, say a month or a
year, perhaps longer. You usually pay per time period,
regardless of how many visitors see the content that you
sponsor. If you have chosen to sponsor content that's
related to your prospects' needs, the response should be
strong, and your site will be swamped with qualified
visitors. Another benefit of sponsorship: It blocks
competitors from running banners in your sponsored area.


10. TIP
Tip: Don't Spam your prospects! All those e-mail
messages you receive promising, "One million e-mail
addresses for $20!!!" and similar stuff fall into the
Spam category. If you buy or rent a list like this,
beware. One marketer purchased 27 million addresses but,
after removing duplicates, found that only 2.2 percent
of them were actual addresses, and half of those were
unusable. The names on such lists are not selected
because they are interested in your product or service,
so they are marginal prospects at best. The people have
not asked to receive e-mail, so many will be irritated
by your message, and some may retaliate. If you want to
grow your business by building relationships with repeat
buyers, Spam is not for you.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Email Marketing Methods

UNTARGETED EMAIL MARKETING
Untargeted email marketing on the internet usually takes
on the form of "Unsolicited Bulk Email". Whether you are
doing it yourself or hiring one of the thousands of
email blasting companies online, it makes no difference.
Bulk email is NOT a smart way to market.
Let me explain exactly why...
"Spamming", or sending mass email to "unqualified" email
addresses is considered bad "netiquette". If you send
unsolicited email to addresses that do not want
commercial email, not only do you risk the reputation of
your business, you can get into more trouble than you
would expect.
What kind of trouble? Well, since many ISP's do not
allow this activity, they will discontinue your account
as soon as the inevitable complaints start to trickle
in.
If you want better results without the risk, consider
the following alternatives...

TARGETED EMAIL MARKETING
Targeted email marketing works. Truly targeted email
means getting your email to recipients that HAVE
approved of it. Not only do your get better results, you
won't have to worry about ISP cancellation and more
importantly, the reputation of your business.
Here are the best targeted email marketing methods I've
used. (Listed from most expensive to least expensive.)
- "Opt In" email list rental.
- Ezine advertising.
- Ezine publishing.
- Email Discussion group participation.
Here are details on how I utilize each...

"Opt In" email list rental
Did you know that you can actually rent email lists of
people who have approved email about certain topics.
(Just about any topic imaginable!)
This method is not the cheapest form of targeted email
marketing, but it works! On average, you'll have to
spend about ten to fifteen cents per address. The
companies that rent the addresses even do the mailing
for you. You just sit back and wait for the orders!
When I released my book, "Insider Internet Marketing", I
used this method and sold a few thousand dollars worth
of books in a two day span. The company I used is called
Postmaster direct .

Ezine advertising
I'm a big fan of Ezine advertising and regularly utilize
this low budget technique. I'm not just saying that to
drum up advertisers for my own newsletter, actually I
have a waiting list of about a month just to get an ad
in here. Why? Quite simply, email advertising works!
Take a look at the advertising section of your favorite
email Ezine. The reason there are so many ads there is
because the advertisers get results. Not only do you
reach your target audience, you reach them by the
thousands. Of all the online marketing methods
available, Ezine advertising could be the most
effective.
Many larger companies are just starting to realize this
and are entering into this exciting new advertising
medium. Compared with the high costs of web site banner
advertising, Ezine advertising is a bargain.

Ezine publishing
One step better than "advertising" in ezines, is
actually publishing your own. If you are not already
publishing your own e-newsletter, I highly recommend you
do so. It is much easier than you might imagine.
Your customers and prospects will constantly be "in
touch" and your Ezine can keep them abreast of new
products and services as you make them available. You
can also generate income offering classified or
sponsorship advertising if you wish.
Unlike traditional newsletters, there are no printing or
postage costs. Since your own cost is zero, you can
offer free subscriptions, thus insuring a steady flow of
new prospects.
To get started publishing your own Ezine, you do not
need to pay for list management. You can manage and
deliver your Ezine yourself with a good email program
like Qualcomm's Eudora or Pegasus Mail by David Harrris.
These are the best email programs available on the
internet and
they can be downloaded for free at the following URL's

Once you have your email program installed, practice
mailing to a few people at once by using the BCC (blind
carbon copy) feature. It's important to use the BCC
field when mailing to a list. This insures that everyone
on the list does not see other email addresses on the
list. No one wants their email address publicized all
over the net.
After you've perfected your emailing skills, all you
need is some subscribers. That's easy, simply post a
message announcing your newsletter to the "NewList
Announcement List".

Email discussion group participation
An email discussion group is delivered via email like an
email newsletter. But a discussion list differs from an
email newsletter in one major way -- you are allowed to
voice your opinion, usually through a moderator.
Discussion lists also allow you to ask for help from
others with similar interests. What's more, you can
assist people in need while your sig. File (the footer
you include at the end of every email message you send)
invites readers to your site. Discussion group marketing
works because the posts are delivered directly TO a
targeted audience. Once again, push marketing at it's
finest! In addition to posting to discussion groups you
should consider advertising if the group you join offers
it.
No matter what you are marketing online, participating
in discussion lists makes sense. Not only will you learn
some valuable information, it's is a great way to
soft-sell some of your wares.

Now that you are armed with the facts about email
marketing, go out and start your email marketing
campaign today! And remember, whatever email marketing
method you choose, be sure that every single email you
send out includes your URL and a brief description of
exactly how YOU
can be of service to anyone who may be reading that
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How to Grow Your Business Through Creative Publicity

Small businesses sometimes fail because their owners
fail to use creative tools and techniques to get the
added exposure they need. The following ideas are geared
toward the smaller business, but would work for larger
businesses as well. Some of the concepts are simple, and
they have also proven to be effective over time with
millions of small and large businesses.
1. Put your business and your name in highly visible
places, no matter how unusual.
We all see billboards, Yellow Pages ads, and ads on the
place mats at pancake houses and local restaurants. Try
putting your business name and or logo on bus stop
benches; ballpark walls; city buses; pens people sign
charge card slips with at your business (often they take
the pen anyway...might as well have your advertising on
it!); T-shirts you, your friends, and clients and
relatives wear (not unlike "Coach wear"); symphony, auto
show, or concert program "inside ads;" plastic cups or
mugs you use for your guests/clients in your office,
etc. Keep the ads neat and the message clear. People DO
remember names from events and places they go where they
have personal or special interests.

2. Join or volunteer time to a few good local business
organizations.
This can be the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of
Commerce, Kiwanis, Variety Club, United Way, small
business clubs, breakfast clubs, business associations,
your neighborhood business groups; anything that will
expose you and your face and name and services to others
who might need it, know someone who needs it, or even be
your competitor. Knowing your competitors, what the
*successful* ones are doing, and where THEY "mingle,"
can help you strategize where you might get some
exposure of your OWN! If you can see what your
competitors' strengths are, chances are you can also see
where they have *weak* areas. If you can, use YOUR
business and your expertise to fill in where they are
weak.

3. Speak or write publically about your profession or
your business.
This sounds self-serving. Of course it is! The KEY is to
make it very subtle! Media folks will accept a story if
they see it is interesting and about something where
there is an "angle" that would appeal to many people.
They will NOT be drawn to interview you or publish an
article strictly on *your* business! Famous authors do
not travel the country signing books in small town book
stores to learn U.S. geography! Any good, honest
exposure you can get through an article in a trade
journal, one of the clubs you have joined, or a charity
function, puts your face, your name, and your business
name, its services & *results*, in front of the public.
If you dislike public speaking, write an article for a
business magazine related to your specialty or the
service or products you sell. Most of those trade
publications are looking for contributors with knowledge
who will write for free or little money, to fill space
and keep their readers interested. It's FAR better than
having an ad in the same magazine! It gives you ten
times the credibility to WRITE for a magazine than to
have an ad in one! Make sure your name and all other
pertinent short author "bio" copy is current and
accurate. The "pen is often mightier than the ad."

4. Look for (or, better still, make) Connections.
4. Get with the times and get "online!"
Sure there are millions of people competing with one
another on the Internet! Turn it around and know that
there are *many* times the same number of consumers,
looking for the best deal, the best service for the
money, and the most qualified person to meet their
needs. Here you can spend next to nothing or you can
spend a lot. Learning how other people in your business
use the "Web" will give you ideas as to where you might
"beef up" your services, the quality of your goods, and
the way you present your business and yourself as the
owner to the public, who can either help your business
sustain itself and grow, or not. See what other similar
businesses do *not* offer that you could or do and play
on that. The information is right before you. You have
but to learn to access it and then the world and all of
the world's businesses are in front of you!

5. Sponsor or be a co-sponsor for a local charity event.
Pick an event that is well-attended, and also one in
which you might already have some interest. Taking the
time off to man the telethon phones, attend a dinner or
party or play or gaming event for a charitable function
serves you in several ways. The two most important are
that you are doing something for the benefit of others,
which helps you spiritually and will give you a good
feeling, and it gives you and your business some public
exposure within a very positive and a very humanistic
environment.

6. Get involved with civic groups and committees.
Pick your interest or one that you feel would be of
interest to potential clients or current customers of
yours: school boards, hospitals, libraries, art
centers/museums, zoning committees, city council,
neighborhood improvement, PTA, Boy Scouts, church
groups, etc. Depending on the size of your city, you
will have more or less choice. If your town is very
small, get involved with something in the closest large
town from your home. The more people you know and meet,
the more people will know about you and "what you do"
and what you have to offer. Simple truth.

7. Voice your opinion in print.
This "attention getter" has pros and cons. If you send a
letter to the editor or write an article for your local
paper's "editorial page," you are sure to have people
who agree with you and will possibly give you some
business or mention your name, as well as people who
disagree with you BIG time and who you might even LOSE
as a customer. If you write about something that is
lighthearted, not related to religion or politics, and
something you feel certain most of the people you really
would want or already have as clients or customers would
enjoy or be "neutral" on, you're safe. Again your name
and maybe your business (many people use their business
address in letters to the editor to keep their private
address private) will be where many people from town and
out of town might see it. Careful thought on the right
topic, well phrased, can affect many people in a
positive way for you.

8. Advertise or offer to give your clientele more than
your competitors are giving.
Reason number one why to check out what your competition
offers, gives, sells, and is all about with their
business! It sometimes takes only a few cents less,
better value for the money, extra courteous service, or
other services or options, to make a client or customer
choose you over one of your competitors...including the
much larger ones! Develop or hone some skill or special
"extra" you can offer people if they use your firm or
buy from your company. Advertise that special extra!
Small but thoughtful or useful gifts or services can
actually make a difference in the kind of highly
competitive marketplace of the late 20th century. This
will be even more important in the 21st century. Know
your strengths and play them up. Know your competition's
weaknesses or things they simply cannot or do not give
and find a way to fill some or all of those weak areas
and voids yourself! Provide the best and most
comprehensive and professional services or merchandise
for the best prices, delivered in the best manner, on
time, and you will be ahead of all but the very TOP
people in your field. Much of what you can do will cost
nothing but an investment in time and some extra
"personalized" effort.

9. Send out a newsletter to clients and potential
clients.
Simple newsletters can be done at home or office and
copies can be made and sent out to mailing lists of your
current clients/customers and other mailing groups.
Don't make the mistake of filling the newsletter with
ads and specials like everyone has in newspaper inserts!
Write about what your business offers, what you do and
how you do it, your staff, *special features or skills
your business or firm has to offer*. Give the reader
free hints, advice, etc. Let them see you are
knowledgeable, friendly and not just out to send them
junk mail filled with coupons or ads for products or
services you are selling. They will be pleasantly
surprised and they will remember you and your business
if you do things with thought and good intentions. It's
also a form of advertising, so it is a legitimate
business tax deduction for most people.

10. Give free workshops or seminars to draw your special
interest "target group."
If applicable and possible, decide on a topic or an
aspect of your business, product line or knowledge
gained from your business or the skills you sell.
Advertise a workshop or seminar open to the public at
your store or other appropriate place. (If demonstrating
a skill, you may need to be in a place where you have
the equipment to do so and where people in attendance
can all see you doing it.) It can be all day long or
last 1-4 hours, depending on your topic and your
business. Again, the point is to offer some free,
useful, interesting value and information to people who
are used to paying you or your competitors for it! You
need not tell them all you know so they would never need
you again! Just give them enough to let them see that
you know your business and are personable. You'll be
surprised how many people will walk in the door or call
you the week following a free weekend seminar or talk!
Cost to you? Nothing but time, unless you pay to rent a
room for your seminar or speech. If it is well
publicized, and on a topic that you know, you will bring
out the crowds; it will pay for itself with one or a few
new clients or customers within a short time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How to Develop Personal Creativity

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted process. Many
myths have grown up around the process, one of which is
that creative people have no say in the matter; that
somehow creativity strikes certain people and misses
others. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Creativity can be developed, sharpened, amplified,
because it is a factor of nurture as well as nature.
1. Believe You Are Creative
Everyone is. Or has the potential to be. It is part of
being human.

2. Broaden Your Interests
Consciously seek out what you have not sought out
before. Be open to new experiences, new sources of
information.

3. Prepare to Create
Gather information, hunches, impressions, colors,
textures, sounds. Keep Notes!

4. Look for (or, better still, make) Connections.
The more varied your interests, the greater the chance
of cross-fertilization; of combining two or more things
that have not been combined before. Look for
relationships between things that are not related.

5. Break Habits.
Our own habits are what often keep us from being more
creative. The more you follow the script, the less you
can improvise. Breaking even little habits can shake up
the system enough to allow new connections to happen,
new points of view to form.

6. Provide the Right Environment (for you).
Some people like to listen to music, others prefer
silence once they are in the creative flow. Experiment
until you find what works for you.

7. Provide Time To Create
(1) Time to sleep on it. Time without your conscious
manipulation. Time for seemingly random thoughts and
bits of input to percolate and bump into each other.
(2) Time away from the immediate demands of work and/or
home, dedicated to the creative task at hand. In certain
environments, time is so precious that this seems like
an unrealistic element of developing your creativity.
But even five minutes could make a difference.

8. Persevere
Don't give up on yourself or your project. Creativity is
not necessarily easy. Make lots of mistakes. Learn from
them. It is to be expected. It is a part of the process.
Keep going. There is a paradox here because sometimes an
important part of being creative is knowing when to
abandon an unproductive idea.

9. Maximize All Of Your Senses
The more you utilize all of your senses to gather and
process information, the greater the chance of those
bits of ideas bumping into each other . . . and sticking
together to create a new something.

10. Forget How Much You Know.
Adopt the beginner's mind. Conventional wisdom may say
this or that cannot be done and then unconventional
wisdom goes right ahead and does it. Learn to look at
things with a fresh eye. Don't be afraid to ask the
"dumb" questions.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Starting a Small Business Going into Business

1. Are You the Type?
The first question you should answer after recognizing
that there are two sides to the prospect of establishing
your own business is "Am I the type?"
You will be your most important employee. It is more
important that you rate yourself objectively than how
you rate any prospective employee. Appraise your
strengths and your weaknesses. As a prospective operator
of your own business, acknowledge that you are weak in
certain areas and cover the deficiency by either
retraining yourself or hiring someone with the necessary
skill.
Numerous studies have been made of small business
managers over the years. Many look at traits and
characteristics that appear common to most people who
start their own businesses. Other studies focus on
characteristics that seem to appear frequently in
successful owner-managers.
First, consider those characteristics that seem to
distinguish the person who opens a business from the
person who works for someone else. These studies
investigated successful and unsuccessful owners, some of
whom went bankrupt several times. Some were successful
only after the second or third try. The characteristics
they share might almost be said to predispose a person
into trying to start a business. Of course, not all of
these characteristics appear in every small business
owner-manager, but the following seem to be most
predominate.

2. Strong Opinions and Attitudes
People who start their own business may be members of
different political parties, feel differently about
religion, economics and other issues. They are like
everyone else. The difference is they usually feel and
express themselves more strongly. This is consistent. If
you are going to risk your money and time in your own
business you must have a strong feeling that you will be
successful. As you will see later, these strong feelings
may also cause problems.
If you want to start your own business you probably have
mixed feelings about authority. You know the manager
must have authority to get things done, but you're not
comfortable working under someone. This may also have
been your attitude in a scholastic, family or other
authority structure.
If you want to open you own business you are likely to
have a strong "Need for Achievement". This "Need for
Achievement" is a psychologist's term for motivation and
is usually measured by tests. It can be an important
factor in success.
The person who wouldn't think of starting a business,
might call you a plunger, a gambler, a high risk taker.
Yet you probably don't feel that about yourself. Studies
have shown that very often the small business owner
doesn't differ from anyone else in risk avoidance or
aversion when measured on tests. At first thought this
seems unreasonable since logic tells us that it is risky
to open your own business. An Ohio State professor once
explained this apparent contradiction very simply. "When
a person starts and manages his own business he doesn't
see risks; he sees only factors that he can control to
his advantage."
If you possess these traits to some degree or other it
doesn't mean you will be successful, only that you will
very likely start your own business. Some of these
characteristics in excess may actually hamper you if you
are not careful.
The characteristics that appear most frequently among
"successful" small business managers include drive,
thinking ability, competence in human relations,
communications skills and technical knowledge.
Drive, as defined in the study, is composed of
responsibility, vigor, initiative, persistence and
health. Thinking ability consists of original, creative,
critical, and analytical thinking. Competency in human
relations means emotional stability, sociability, good
personal relations, consideration, cheerfulness,
cooperation. and tactfulness. Important communications
skills include verbal comprehension, and oral and
written communications. Technical knowledge is the
manager's comprehension of the physical process of
producing goods or services, and the ability to use the
information purposefully.
Motivation or drive has long been considered as having
an important effect on performance. Psychologists now
claim you can increase the motivation and the personal
capacities that will improve your effectiveness and
increase your chances for success. Much of the
development of such achievement motivation depends on
setting the right kind of goals for yourself.

3. What Business Should You Choose?
Many of you have already decided what business to
choose. Others may still be seeking answers from
counselors. Whether you have decided or not, you will
find it helpful to continue your self-evaluation.
Begin by summarizing your background and experience.
Include jobs. schooling, and hobbies. Then write down
what you think you would like to do. Does what you would
like to do match up with what you have done? It is
helpful if your experience and training can be put to
direct use in your new enterprise.
What are your prospective needs? What are your
prospective customers' needs? You may make money doing
something you don't like if people will pay for it. On
the other hand, you will never make money if people don
t need your product or service no matter how happy you
are doing it. Experts have said more companies fail
because they are in the wrong business than because they
are "doing business wrong".
Read, listen to the experts, talk to business people,
try to determine where growth will occur. Most new
businesses can only get customers by taking them away
from someone else, or by attracting new people entering
the area. In other words, don't start a contracting
business in a community where the population is
decreasing even if you are a good contractor.
At this point, try to match your background and
interests with what you see the needs to be. If they
match, wonderful. Now all you have to do is discover how
to offer the customers more for their money than do your
competitors.
If the needs and your background don't match, don't
despair. Get training by working in a company that
provides a product or service that is needed. Find a job
in a well managed, successful company of the kind you
are contemplating. Then absorb as much management
know-how as you can while learning the technical skills.
Education can help too. While there may be no
educational requirements for starting your own business,
the more schooling you have along the right lines the
better equipped you should be.
(Some fields require licenses, certificates, even
degrees in specific educational areas.) Certainly it is
helpful if you have had courses in record keeping, sales
and communication. These needn't be college or even high
school courses. They can come from adult education
programs and the like.
Is there a need for what you want to sell or do? Are you
prepared to fill that need? Are you interested in the
area? Can you learn what you need to? Will there be a
continuing and growing need for your product or service?


4. Your Chances of Success
What are your chances of success if you go into
business? New businesses are always being started.
Almost as many are failing or being discontinued. A year
of poor business conditions is likely to be followed by
a greater than average number of failures or closings. A
year of good business conditions tends to be followed by
large increases in the total number of businesses. In
general, the number of firms increases with increases in
human population, total personal income and per capita
income and since these factors have increased regularly,
the total number of small businesses usually rises every
year.
This growth is not free of growing pains, however. At
the same time new businesses are being born other
businesses are being discontinued. Some of these
discontinuances are legally business failures; other
owners give up to avoid or minimize losses and are not
failures in the strict sense. Still others discontinue
for reasons such as the death or retirement of the
proprietor, the dissolution of a partnership, or the
sale of the business to a new owner.
Younger businesses tend to discontinue first. Many do
not make it through the first year. The discontinuation
rate of those that survive this first year "burn-in"
declines steadily until at the end of several years the
rate has dropped dramatically. So, your chances of
success improve the longer you stay in business.
Poor management is the largest single cause of business
failure. Year after year, the lack of managerial
experience and aptitude has accounted for around 90
percent of all failures analyzed by Dun & Bradstreet,
Inc.
Many factors may adversely affect individual firms over
which owners have little control. In such cases, the
astute manager can often soften the blow or, sometimes,
change adversity into an asset. Examples of factors over
which the owner has little control are overall poor
business conditions, relocations of highways, sudden
style changes, the replacement of existing products by
new ones, and local labor situations. While these
factors may cause some businesses to close, they may
represent opportunities for others. A local market place
may decline in importance at the same time new shopping
centers are developing. Sudden changes in style or the
replacement of existing products may bring trouble to
certain businesses but open doors for new ones. Adverse
employment situations in some areas may be offset by
favorable situations in others. Ingenuity in taking
advantage of changing consumer desires and technological
improvements will always be rewarded.
In the final analysis, it is up to you. Will your
management be competent? Will you be able to judge, and
then satisfy, your customers' wants? Can you do this
accurately and quickly enough to more than compensate
for risks due to factors beyond your control? Such
accomplishment requires expert management.

5. Your Return on Investment
Will the rate of return on the money you invest in your
business be greater than the rate you could receive if
you invested your money elsewhere? While your decision
to go into business for yourself may not depend entirely
upon this, it is a factor which should interest you. Too
frequently people invest money in their own businesses
under the misapprehension that the financial return will
be far greater than the return from other investments.
Investigation of the average annual returns in the line
of business in which you are interested may be worthy of
your time.
Your decision to go into business may not depend
entirely on financial rewards. The size of the potential
return on your investment may be overshadowed by your
desire for independence, the chance to do the type of
work you would like to do, the opportunity to live in
the part of the country or city you prefer, or the
feeling that you can be more useful to the community
than you would be if you continued working for someone
else. Do not overlook such intangible considerations.
But remember, you cannot keep your own business open
unless you receive an adequate financial return on your
investment.
_____________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________